The Fire Within
by xtheGoldenEaglex
Summary: Daenerys Targaryen is born twenty years earlier and it changes everything. Married to her brother Prince Rhaegar at age thirteen, Daenerys not only births heirs of the Iron Throne, but dragons as well. Who will win the War of the Usurper now that three dragons grace the battlefield? Rhaegar/Daenerys/Jaime.
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note:_** _Basically, this is an AU where Daenerys is born 20 years earlier and marries Rhaegar. She has two children, twins, and then gives birth to a sickly Visenya thanks to a ritual that a witch preformed, which is explained in this chapter. The_ _prologue is set before Robert's Rebellion and focuses on the birth of Daenerys' dragons. There will then be a time jump and the fanfic will be set just before the rebellion. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

* * *

 _some say the world will end in fire,  
_ _some say in ice.  
_ _from what i've tasted of desire  
_ _i hold with those who favour **fire.**_

* * *

 **DAENERYS**  
 _the mother of dragons_

* * *

 **The Last Month of 278AC**

* * *

Daenerys Targaryen sprinted through the halls of the Red Keep, clutching her blood-stained skirt in her hand. Anger pulsed through the young princess' veins and boiled in her blood as tears of grief, of _rage_ , fell down her cheeks. How could she be so _stupid_? She entrusted the fate of her child into the hands of a witch and her little Visenya had paid the price for it.

" _WITCH!"_ Daenerys screamed as she stormed into Merentei's room where the Red Priestess was meditating before her fireplace.

Blinded with rage, Dany grabbed the priestess by the hair and threw her against the wall. She then grabbed a fire poker and pointed it towards the witch's neck, digging it in deep enough to draw blood. The witch was shaking with fear. Dany felt a sick satisfaction come over her. Merentei wasn't quite as brave when it was her life being threatened.

It was this very room where the ritual took place, the ritual that doomed two royal babies. Merentei had stabbed a thief in the gut with a knife of Valyrian steel and then painted an 'X' on Daenerys' pregnant stomach with his blood. Dany had thought the witch was blessing her child with strength and good fortune. That's what both her own father and the Red Priestess promised. But the ritual caused Dany to give birth early to a weak, sickly child who died after only four months of life.

"You killed my child!" Daenerys roared. "You did this to me! You lied to me!"

"I never lied," the witch retorted in accented Common Tongue. She smirked up at Dany once she felt the tip of the poker being taken away from her neck.

"You told me – you _promised_ me – that the blood sacrifice would make her stronger! You told me that my child would be the third head of the dragon and needed the strength of R'hllor. You lied!"

The priestess chortled at her, but there was no amusement in her voice, only contempt. "No, silly girl. Your father promised you so. I made no such promises."

"Liar! You told me that my daughter would be Azor Ahai come again," Dany snarled, lifting the poker up to the priestess' neck.

"You are mistake once again, Daenerys Stormborn. I told you that your daughter will bring about the coming of our saviour, Azor Ahai. The Prince That Was Promised," the priestess corrected, still grinning. "I told you that Azor Ahai would come again within the year and rise fire. I remember everything, Daenerys."

Daenerys stepped away from her, fighting back tears. She wasn't sure if they were tears of grief or anger, but Dany refused to let the witch see her cry. "How can she possibly do that now? She's dead! My daughter is dead!"

Merentei's smirk only became more sinister, widening into a large grin. What she revealed next only served to disturb Dany further. "You'll find that your daughter will serve a better purpose dead than alive."

Mouth agape, Dany stared at the witch, horrified. Her arm went limp by her side. She faintly heard the fire poker fall to the ground, its metal clashing with the cold floor. Merentei glanced between Dany and the fire poker. Deciding that this was her only hope of escaping the Red Keep alive, Merentei ran out of her room. Daenerys realised that the witch was gone too late. The young princess ran after her, skirt hiked above her shin.

"Seize her! Ser Barristan, restrain the witch!"

"My lady?" Ser Barristan asked, confusion evident in his tone. Despite his confusion, the old knight drew steel against the Red Witch, backing her against a wall, before he turned the witch around and grabbed her wrists.

Daenerys rushed towards Ser Barristan. The knight regarded her with worried eyes, seeing the blood on her dress, but Daenerys paid him no mind. Her eyes were set on the witch who had taken her child from her. Merentei of Lys would know her pain, Dany decided, and then some.

"Princess, what has happened?" Ser Barristan's worried voice tore Daenerys from her murderous thoughts. Her violet eyes snapped towards him, surprised that he was still there, even though she knew her surprise was not logical.

"The king's witch murdered my daughter and brother," Daenerys growled. The knight winced at the unfamiliar harshness the princess was displaying. Even Dany had surprised herself. "He will no doubt want her dead as well, once he puts the pieces together."

"Princess, I don't understand..."

"This witch tricked me into sacrificing my child, as she did the king before my brother was even conceived," Daenerys explained, eerily calm as she stared at the snarling witch.

Visions flashed before her eyes. Visions she had seen before, mostly in the form of dreams. The two dead children and the betrayer at a funeral pyre, their bodies surrounded by the dragon eggs Lord Varys had gifted to her at her wedding to Rhaegar. Merentei was the betrayer, and her blood would fuel the fire that gave birth to dragons.

"I see it now. What you meant," Dany told the witch, a small smile on her lips. Hope radiated from the witch's face, but it was fleeting. "Take her to the black cells."

"Very well, princess."

"NO! You need me! Daenerys, do not do this! You need me!"

Dany smirked. "I think you will serve me better dead than alive."

* * *

"You fool," was the first thing Rhaegar said to his grieving wife after they lost their child. Thankfully Daenerys was no longer the sensitive sort. She did not respond to him, which resulted in Rhaegar continuing with his insults. "You should have known better than to trust a _witch_."

"You seemed fine with her when she first came to court," Daenerys retorted, just as heatedly. "When she was all flattery and compliments. You did not see her as a threat then either!"

"No. But then again I did not allow her to paint my pregnant stomach with the blood of a criminal!"

Daenerys pressed her lips together firmly. She had no answer to that. Feeling tears well in her eyes, Dany turned away from Rhaegar and faced the mirror of her dressing table. Behind her, she heard Rhaegar sigh and sit down on their bed. That was more like him. Rhaegar had never been hot-tempered. He was gloomy and brooding and selfish, but never cruel with words.

"I'm sorry."

"You are forgiven," Daenerys replied immediately, blinking away the tears in her eyes.

Rhaegar sighed again. "Father wishes to burn her tomorrow night in the throne room. A public affair, of course."

"I wish to burn the children with her."

"Dany..." Rhaegar trailed off, uncertain, giving her a warning look.

"It must be done," Daenerys stated, with all the authority of the true crown princess she had turned into over night. "It _must_ be done. With fire and blood."

She saw her brother's expression through the mirror. A familiar look crossed his face, one that she had seen many times before during his discussions with Father. It was more than just fear, it was fear in it's most powerful form, mingled with disgust and horror. Daenerys hated that it was directed at her, caused by what she had just said. _He will understand soon enough,_ she reassured herself. She would hate for Rhaegar to think her mad.

"You sound... like him," Rhaegar said slowly, horrified. It broke her heart to hear his voice break like that, to hear his voice mingled with pain and horror. To hear his accusations directed at _her_.

Dany rose from her vanity and moved to sit beside her brother. She placed a hand on his shoulder and another on his face, turning his face towards her so he could see the promise in her eyes. "I am not him, Rhaegar, and I will never become him. I swear it."

Rhaegar didn't nod or give some sort of sign that he was appeased as she had hoped he would. No. Her brother and husband simply regarded her with a sorrowful expression and whispered, "That's what all mad men say before madness overcomes them. Promises mean nothing when the darkness seeps in."

She had nothing to say to that. Was this madness? Dany did not know, so she closed her mouth and looked at the wall ahead of her, her mind drifting to a vision of a witch aflame and dragons rising from her ashes.

* * *

 **RHAEGAR  
** _the silver prince_

* * *

Disturbing as it was, Rhaegar remembered his little sister when she was just that, little and innocent and blind to all life's tribulations. He remembered the day their grandmother died, and Daenerys rushed to their mother's chambers as soon as she heard the news, to check if Queen Rhaella was alright. A child of three, Dany had been more concerned about her mother being sad than herself.

She didn't remain a child for long. Their father saw to that. At twelve, Aerys started to get too familiar with his daughter, touching her in ways no man, not even a king, should ever even _think_ to touch their daughter. Rhaegar tried to protect her then, just as he tried to protect her now.

But how was he to protect her from herself? From her own madness?

Daenerys had somehow managed to convince their father to burn their children with the Red Witch of Lys and to change the site of the pyre to the Kingswood. Rhaegar couldn't imagine his sweet-tempered sister ever manipulating anyone, let alone their cruel father, but yet Dany had gotten her way.

His sister had placed her treasured dragon eggs beside and on Visenya's dead body. The pale cream egg was positioned beside their daughter's head, the black laid atop the left side of her tiny chest, and the deep green egg laid at Visenya's feet. Rhaegar knew what Dany was planning, and he did not like it.

Just as the pyre was lit by Ser Gerold Hightower, the Red Witch, shaking with fright, managed to snarl at Daenerys, "You will not hear me scream, child! For my lord stands beside me!"

"It is not your screams I want," he heard Daenerys say darkly, "only your life."

Her words chilled him to the bone, and startled the Red Witch as well. When Rhaegar looked at his wife, he saw no emotion on her face whatsoever, only flames dancing in her eyes as she stared at the pyre with some sick fascination.

The Red Witch started muttering then, a prayer in Old Valyrian to her God. Rhaegar pitied her. All those about to die deserved pity, he believed, even those who had wronged him as she had. But his wife had no pity for the witch.

A bright light in the dark sky forced Rhaegar's eyes away from the pyre and up to the sky. A large, red star flew across the sky, like a ball of fire making its way across the world. Dany smiled up at the sky, before looking back down at the pyre, determination shining in those violet eyes of hers, so alike his. Daenerys started to walk towards the fire, in some sort of trance. In an instant, Rhaegar had grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him.

"Dany, we are not fireproof," Rhaegar told her. "If you walk into that pyre, you will burn."

His wife smiled at him, a sad, pitiful smile, and laid a hand on his cheek. "Fear not, husband. You do not understand now. But you will."

Wide-eyed and shocked, Rhaegar's grip on his wife's wrist loosened. Daenerys took that opportunity to step away from him and walk into the flames. Rhaegar wanted to run after her, but just as he took his first step towards the pyre, he saw fire lick the bottom of Daenerys' dress, burning it to dust. He waited for her scream.

It never came.

The only sound that could be heard was his mother's loud shriek of despair, the fire crackling and his father's mad laughter. Rhaegar dropped to his knees, and the rest of the court followed suit except for his father. He caught a glimpse of Dany's beautiful silver-gold hair within the flames before fire engulfed her like a blanket. All he could do now was pray.

He stayed awake until morning came, like most of the lords and ladies of the court. His father had left hours ago. "And they dare to call me mad!" he had shouted before he took his leave. The court did not spare him false laughter, no one even spared him a smile. His mother had left the king's side to kneel beside her son, an act she would surely pay for later.

It took all night, but the fire had died down to the point that Rhaegar would not burn to death if he stepped within the pyre. So the crown prince stood and searched for a path where the fire did not burn as strong. He ignored his mother's protests, walking into the pyre as Dany had the night before, only he wasn't as likely to die. Rhaegar feared that he would find her ashes along with the ashes of his child.

A loud cry came from somewhere within the pyre, though the cry was not quite human. Rhaegar smiled and laughed in relief. That cry was all it took to lift his spirits, all he needed to know that his sister was still alive. She had done it. She had truly done it.

He followed the cries that were beginning to sound more like singing to Rhaegar's ears. The fire had almost completely died down, and the visions he had seen within the flames were almost completely gone. He would think about them later, but for now, all he could think about was his sister and wife, sitting on the ground with three dragons surrounding her. The black dragon was perched on her shoulder while the cream and gold dragon and the green suckled at her breasts.

Sensing his presence, Dany's eyes flickered up to him. The coldness held within them the night before had vanished, and in its place the softness had returned. Rhaegar recognised that look. She had the same expression on her face when he had come to see Rhaenys and Aegon after she had just given birth, and then Visenya a year later. It was the look of doting mother as she held her child.

Only this time, Dany was not the mother of children.

Daenerys was the mother of dragons.


	2. Mother of Monsters

**MOTHER OF MONSTERS**

* * *

 _but if it be a sin to covet honour,  
I am the most offending soul alive.  
-William Shakespeare_

* * *

 **DAENERYS  
** _the mother of dragons_

* * *

 ** _281  
the Year of the False Spring_**

* * *

"Mother! Mother, look at me! I'm a dragonrider!"

Daenerys looked over to where Rhaenys was, finding her daughter climbing onto Visenyon's back. Dany dropped the chains she had just released Rhaelle from on to the ground and raced over to Rhaenys, but she was too late. Visenyon had already thrown Rhaenys off his back and onto the ground. Her daughter landed with a loud _thud_ as Visenyon roared with displeasure.

" _Hush, my child,"_ Daenerys soothed the dragon, stroking his neck in an attempt to quiet him. If her father found out that she could no longer control Visenyon, that would only give the paranoid king an excuse to have him killed. Dany felt terrible for prioritising a dragon over her daughter, but she would not let her dragon be slaughtered.

Visenyon eventually calmed and leaned into his mother's touch. Dany smiled as the black dragon became soothed. Unchained and restless, Dany decided that it was time for them to take off.

"Sōvēs," she whispered to her three dragons, though they heard her nonetheless. The three took flight, soaring into the sky as Daenerys and her daughter stared on.

 _Someday,_ Dany thought with wonder, _someday, I will be riding upon Visenyon's back as he takes flight._ That made Daenerys smile. Her largest dragon was the one she favoured the most. He had been lain beside Visenya's heart in the funeral pyre and then named after her dead child. But her affection for him was more than just that. As a young dragon, he had clung to her more than the others. Whenever she left him alone for more than a few minutes he had wailed for her until she came back. Three years later and Visenyon was not so attached to his mother, but the affection still remained.

Jaehaerion, the green and bronze, had long chosen Rhaegar to be his dragonrider, while Rhaelle, the cream and gold, had yet to choose hers. Dany expected her to choose Viserys to be her dragonrider, as had many, but upon their first meeting when young Viserys had climbed upon her back, Rhaelle had thrown him off. When Rhaenys tried to climb on Rhaelle's back once, however, Rhaelle had flown a few feet in the air with Rhaenys on her back. It seemed her daughter was destined to be a dragonrider.

Suddenly remembering that her daughter lay upset on the ground, Dany shook her head and tore her eyes away from her dragons, sitting down with Rhaenys on the ground. She smiled at her daughter and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, Rhaenys, you must know by now that a dragon does not like to be mounted by those who are not his dragonrider," Dany told her daughter, "of which a dragon only has one."

"I forgot, Mother, please do not be mad," Rhaenys pleaded, tears shining in her eyes.

"I am not mad with you, my love. I just want you to understand."

"Does that mean that Rhaelle will not let you mount her?" Rhaenys asked, head tilted to the side curiously.

"No. Neither will Jaehaerion. Your father is the only one he will let mount him, as I am the only one Visenyon will allow," Daenerys explained.

"And Rhaelle?"

"Rhaelle has not chosen yet." Dany smiled at her young daughter. "It could be you, for all I know."

Rhaenys chirped up and beamed at Daenerys. "I would like that very much! But how do you know if a dragon wants you to be its dragonrider?"

That, Dany didn't know the answer to. From the moment Visenyon had hopped onto her shoulder, Daenerys just _knew_. There was a connection she shared with the black dragon which she didn't share with the other two. She loved all her dragons, yes, but Visenyon was different... he was _hers_.

Rhaegar hadn't been able to explain it either. Since he first met Jaehaerion, the green dragon had taken to him in a way he hadn't to Daenerys. Dany wasn't jealous, though, as a dragonrider could not ride more than one dragon anyway.

"I can't... quite explain it," Daenerys said thoughtfully. "You just know, I suppose. There's this pull, of sorts." Her answer seemed to disappoint Rhaenys, as though it had squashed any possibility of her ever being Rhaelle's dragonrider. Dany cupped her daughter's left cheek in her hand. "Do not fret, my love. You are too young to understand such magic."

"Magic?" Rhaenys perked up.

"Yes, magic," Dany smiled. "It runs in our blood. You'll feel it someday, when you're older. You probably feel it already but you haven't yet realised."

"Dany," she heard Rhaegar call behind her, interrupted her talk with Rhaenys.

Daenerys stiffened, irritation stilling her bones. It was an act she was sure her perceptive daughter did not miss. The crown princess stood to greet Rhaegar, forcing herself to be civil when she knew what would come next.

"Rhaegar."

"You released the dragons again."

"I did," was all Dany said, for she felt that she had done nothing wrong.

Rhaegar frowned. "I thought we agreed that they would stay within the Dragonpit for now."

" _For now_ ," Dany scoffed. She was less able to keep her anger hidden. "For now turns into forever and before long my dragons are stunted and weak. Or have you forgotten what happened to the last dragon?"

"I have not," her brother promised, but to Dany it seemed as though it had.

The last dragon had been born to parents raised in captivity, and was itself forced to grow in an enclosed space. Daenerys would fight tooth and nail before she let that happen. Her dragons deserved to roam the skies. They had not hurt anyone yet, so she didn't see the harm.

Instead of speaking, Daenerys had resolved to glaring at her husband. She would not back down from this, as she had many times before during their arguments. He would not win.

"Visenyon returned later last night. Half a day, that's what we originally agreed to. You defied even that."

"That's what _you_ demanded," Dany said, though it came out as a snarl. "I agreed to nothing."

"You agreed to call them back before night fall."

"And I did," Daenerys swore, unable to hide the shame from her face. She had done her duty; she had called her dragons home once the sun had disappeared from the sky, yet only two returned.

Rhaegar nodded, understanding. "I see."

"You will not tell Father." Rhaegar said nothing. Daenerys panicked. "Rhaegar, you mustn't! He will have Visenyon killed! You know he sees them as a threat, this will only give him an excuse!"

A Targaryen cannot kill his own's family's dragon. It was unheard of. Though with the right excuse, Daenerys knew that familial honour and custom would not be enough. King Aerys expected his daughter and son to rise against him in rebellion as soon as their dragons grew large enough and reign fire down upon him and take his throne.

Because of that, the king's paranoia, Rhaegar and Daenerys were forbidden to leave King's Landing unless they were prepared to leave the dragons in the Dragonpit. Dany would never leave her dragons, and the children would not leave without their mother, and Rhaegar would not leave without his children. So they all stayed in King's Landing.

"I will not tell him," Rhaegar declared after a few moments of agonising silence. Dany released a relieved sigh. "But you will be the one to give him an _excuse_ , Daenerys. Visenyon is wild, and you give him too much freedom. If you cannot train him properly..."

"I can," Dany insisted, "and I will."

The silver prince regarded her uncertainly. "I hope for Visenyon's sake that is true."

It was not, for Visenyon did not come home that night, and for many nights after that he flew across the Seven Kingdoms, unchained and uncontrolled.

* * *

 **TYWIN** **  
** _the lion of lannister_

* * *

"There has not been any known sighting of the princess' dragon in more than a fortnight," Tywin informed the king when he had asked. "The last person who saw Visenyon was the shepherd."

Charred sheep bones was the shepherd's proof that the dragon had burned seven of his flock. The crown had compensated the man handsomely after he swore before the Sept of Baelor that he was telling the truth. Tywin found the whole ordeal tedious. If only the princess could have just found herself a pet – a friendlier pet that did not burn livestock – then all this could be avoided.

"You should send a letter north, my lord. To see if Lord Stark has any tell of the dragon's whereabouts," Pycelle suggested.

Aerys narrowed his eyes, whether in thought or in rage, Tywin could not tell. Eventually, he gave a short nod of approval.

"Very well," Tywin agreed when he realised that the king would not speak. "I suggest that we equip each Great House with restraints and gear so they can bring the princess' dragon home unharmed." Tywin paused for a moment, debating whether to make another suggestion that might anger the king. He said it anyway. "And a muzzle, if the king would allow it."

"Unharmed?" The king barked an unkind laugh that sounded insane to Tywin. The laughter lasted for longer than could be considered normal. "I want nothing but that dragon's corpse returned to me. I want his bones to decorate the throne room. I do not want the dragon alive. He is only another weapon my children can use against me!"

"Your Grace," Tywin spoke carefully, daring to speak some sense into the king since Pycelle seemed unwilling to. The king's eyes snapped dangerously towards Lord Tywin. "The smallfolk have taken to the dragons well, the princess too. They call her the Mother of Dragons and believe her to be some sort of saviour-"

"Which is why she must be crushed!" the king roared, slamming his fist onto the table.

Tywin had often heard him rage about Princess Daenerys and her three dragons and what a threat they posed to him. Princess Daenerys was barely a woman and her dragons weren't large enough yet to burn down a castle. The king could likely be dead by the time they were large enough to be a threat.

"Your Grace," it was Pycelle who spoke this time, for once speaking against his king. "If I may, while I agree that the dragons could become an issue, having one of your own dragons killed... it makes a mockery of the great House Targaryen. You yourself are of dragon blood, my king, and to have a dragon bound to one of your house killed... it would not inspire loyalty and fear in those who would wish to take your crown from you."

"I am a dragon!" Aerys declared, glaring at Pycelle with two twitching eyes.

Warily, Tywin observed his king, wondering if it was safe to try to reason with him yet. Pycelle had sown the seed. All Tywin had to do was help the flower grow.

"A dragon you may be, Your Grace, but no mere mortal like you or I could inspire such fear in the people of Westeros as a dragon could." He tread on dangerous waters, but Aerys had made no move to threaten or roar at Tywin yet, so the Lion of Lannister continued. "Let the dragon live. Chain him up in the Dragonpit with his siblings and I will make sure that the girl's dragons never leave King's Landing again. They will not fly or even leave their chains. They will grow weak and stunted, incapable of burning any city or even villages. The dragons will exist only to remind the world of the power of House Targaryen."

The old king beamed and straightened proudly in his seat, and that was how Tywin knew he had won. He allowed a small, smug grin to grave his lips for a quick second, before the king shattered his victory.

"Yes. Daenerys' dragons will be nothing if they are small and weak. The two dragons will remain in the Dragonpit for as long as I live, never to fly again."

"And Visenyon, Your Grace?" Pycelle urged. "The black dragon?"

The king's eyes darkened, insanity seeping into them again. He laughed a cold, harsh laugh that sent chills down Aerys' bones. "I want him dead!"

Tywin sighed quietly. And what the king wanted, the king would have.

* * *

 **RHAELLA** **  
** _the good queen_

* * *

From the balcony overlooking the Dragonpit, Rhaella watched Jaehaerion and Rhaelle playfully fight each other, as any young children would. It put a sad smile on the queen's face as she recalled that her eldest children never had that closeness. Dany, even as a child, have so much love and affection to give, while her older brother only had time for books and prophecies. Even the dragons were more affectionate with each other than Rhaegar and Dany had been.

Suddenly, the dragons stopped brawling and looked up at Rhaella. They started to roar. It was more of a screeching sound than a roar. Rhaella remembered Visenyon's roar, the loud, frightening sound that it was. It frightened even Aerys, who once requested that a muzzle be put over Visenyon's mouth. No wonder the king was so delighted the black dragon had fled King's Landing. Of all Dany's dragons, Visenyon was the largest and his fire the hottest.

The dragons roared for their brother. For their mother, who had hidden herself within her rooms and had not seen outside them in two weeks. Ever since the shepherd came to King's Landing and claimed that Visenyon had burnt half his herd, Dany, already depressed from losing her favourite dragon and ashamed that she was unable to bring him back, had refused to see anyone but her two children and her mother.

That was until another man came to King's Landing with another set of bones to prove his story true.

Ser Barristan had been sent to fetch Daenerys, but Rhaella stopped him in his tracks, having just returned from visiting the dragons. The knight told her what the peasant man claimed and Rhaella sent him away, telling him that she would tell Daenerys, instead of having the king taunt Dany and make her upset. Better it come from her mother's lips than anyone else's, so Dany would be free to express herself as she wished.

"Mother," Dany inclined her head respectfully as soon as she saw her mother. Her ladies flocked her like hens. They were all highborn girls from wealthy houses. Cersei Lannister, Janna and Mina Tyrell, Alerie Hightower, Elia Martell and Ashara Dayne... all young, beautiful girls, eager to please and masked in pleasantries. Rhaella had warned her daughter of them, especially Tywin's girl, who Rhaella had not liked since their first introduction.

"Dany," Rhaella greeted. For a few seconds, she was brought back to a time when she was the young princess and Joanna Lannister waited upon her. That was a long time ago, but Rhaella still had to shake her head to rid herself of the memory. She sobered, remembering why she was here. "I must speak with you. _Alone_."

With a quick nod of the princess' head, her ladies scurried away, leaving Dany and Rhaella alone in the princess' solar.

"What is it you wish to speak to me about, Mother?"

Her daughter looked tired, as though the weight of world was upon her shoulders. Rhaella would do anything to lessen it. Dany had always been a special child. She cared about people and never sought to hurt them. Rhaella found it ironic that the Gods had chosen her daughter to be the Mother of Dragons when Dany would never hurt a fly. The queen remembered the night the dragons were brought into the world, and how coldly her daughter had regarded the burning witch. She had thought that Dany would never be the same kind girl after seeing how ruthless she was that night, Rhaella had been wrong. Dany became the kind girl and loving mother she had always been. Those dragons of hers were more pets than weapons, more children than beasts.

What Rhaella had to say would crush her daughter.

"A man came to the Keep today. A man from just outside the Crownlands," Rhaella said carefully. Dany raised an eyebrow, wondering what this had to do with her. Rhaella sighed. "He brought bones, Daenerys."

Dany looked as though she was going cry. "More livestock?"

"No, my love. Not livestock," Rhaella corrected. If her daughter was this upset over some sheep, Rhaella tried not to think about how her daughter would react to the true story. But she had to tell her, or someone else would. "Dany, there were two sets of bones. They weren't sheep this time, my sweet. Visenyon happened upon two young girls."

Daenerys screamed.

The pain and shock on her daughter's face was a sight no mother ever wanted to see. She tried to cradle Dany in her arms, but Dany was as stiff as stone, weeping quiet tears and clutching the armrest of her chair. Her body started shaking as she began to breathe too quickly. Rhaella held onto her tighter, and Dany wrapped her arms around her mother and cried on her shoulder.

"How old were they?" Dany sobbed.

"Dany..."

"I must know," Dany declared, the sobs still shaking her body. "I must."

"One was five. The other three."

Daenerys sobs became even louder and her grip on her mother tighter. Rhaella cooed and whispered reassurances into Daenerys' ears, which seemed to slowly calm down the princess until Dany had stopped sobbing and tore herself away from her mother's embrace.

"I brought them into the world," Daenerys said, the flames from the hearth flickering in her violet eyes. "Mother of dragons, they call me," Dany scoffed. "But perhaps I am only the mother of monsters. I am the blood of the dragon as well. If they are monsters, so am I."

"You are not a monster, Dany," Rhaella quickly assured her daughter, resting a hand atop of Daenerys'. Dany looked to her mother with tears in her eyes. "You are good and kind. What your dragons does, does not define you. Know that."

"I unleashed them into the world," Dany croaked. "Perhaps Father is right. They truly are beasts."

"Your father is paranoid. He believes that he should he the only dragon. He prefers tales and songs over the real thing." Rhaella chastised herself for being so bold when Dany's ladies were only in the next room, but continued on nonetheless. "You brought back the age of dragons, Daenerys, the age of _magic_. For so long we have boasted of being the blood of the dragon, and for the first time in over a century, it is true. And you did that." She gave Dany a fond smile.

"Perhaps," her daughter allowed, though her mood did not cheer. "But that does not change the fact that Visenyon burned two little girls alive. They were of close age to Rhaenys and Aegon, Mother. How can I ignore that? Their mother grieves as I would."

"That is true, my love. But as it happens you cannot change the past. You will study how the dragonlords of old tamed their dragons and tame the two in the Dragonpit. And when Visenyon returns to you, you will train him as well."

"And if he does not?"

Rhaella smiled sadly and sighed. "Then he does not."

They sat in silence, staring at the fire in the hearth. Rhaella's heart broke to see her daughter so troubled. She was but a child in truth, and already a mother to two children and mother to dragons. _Mother of monsters._ The words echoed in Rhaella's head. Her daughter was certainly not that.

"The king wishes to speak with you. The man... he waits in the throne room."

"He wishes to speak with me as well?"

"He does."

Daenerys rose from her seat, stumbling as she did. Rhaella caught Dany in her arms and steadied her. Giving her mother a quiet thanks, Daenerys started to walk towards the throne room, shoulders squared and defensive. Both knew that this meeting would not be an easy one. It would cause Dany a great deal of pain, guilt and even embarrassment, but it was yet another ordeal they must go through because their king was a mad man.

Rhaella barely acknowledged the ladies following Dany. _Like a flock of hens, truly,_ the queen thought for the second time that day. Young girls were silly things, but young boys were too. She could not fault them for that. In fact, she envied them.

"Your Grace," Dany curtseyed in front of her father's throne, and Rhaella did the same. "You sent for me?"

The king's smile was sadistic and cruel. From the corner of her eye, Rhaella could see Dany grimace. At least she knew what was coming.

"Sit, girl. The two of you. There is a man who has come far to share his grievance with you." Her father looked delighted. Rhaella tried to ignore him, and hoped that Dany did the same. She sat beside her husband's throne while Dany sat on the seat beside Rhaella. Hidden from the court's prying eyes, a mother held her daughter's hand.

"Come, peasant. Tell my daughter what her _child_ has done." Aerys scoffed.

"Your Grace," the man bowed before the throne. He looked like a farmer, dressed in clothes not suitable for a knight or lord, yet not as scruffy as the clothes those who dwelled in Flea Bottom wore.

"Get on with it." Her husband was eager, excited like a child.

The man began nervously, "I spotted a dragon flying in the sky about a week ago, now. His wing made a shadow large enough to cover my cottage in darkness. It was the black one. Vis- Vis-"

"Visenyon," Dany finished, but said nothing more, urging the man to continue. She wanted this to finish as soon as possible so she could return to her room and cry.

The farmer nodded. "Yes, Visenyon. My girls were so excited. They had never seen a dragon before, as few have, and ran out of the cottage to get a better look. Then he started burning sheep. My daughters were frightened. I would not have come had he only burned the sheep. He only burnt six. But then he..." The man began to weep, clutching the sack in his arms tightly. Rhaella only noticed the sack then. "As my daughters ran across the field to get inside, the dragon flew above them and he... there was fire. So much fire. He... he burnt them. He burnt my daughters, my girls!" the man sobbed. Tears were racing down his cheeks. He fell onto his knees. Rhaella felt Dany's hand starting to shake again.

"Show her the bones," Aerys commanded, head turning towards Daenerys, a sick smile on his face as his daughter began to weep.

The man obeyed and uncovered the blackened bones of his children. Rhaella gasped as Daenerys sobbed. Dany tried to sob quietly, but soon enough those closest to the throne could hear the princess cry for what her dragon had done.

Seeing that Dany had nothing to say, Aerys laughed cruelly and turned to the man. "I would give you gold as compensation, but I do not think that is enough. Do you, Daenerys? This lives of two little girls were stolen by your beast. Do you think that gold is enough?"

"No," Dany croaked, gripping onto her mother's hand for dear life. Rhaella gave Dany's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"No," the king repeated. "It would not. I will not give you gold. I will give you something better. Something that is... priceless." The smirk on Aerys' face told Rhaella that she would not like the king's idea of compensation. "I will give you the flesh of the beast that did this to your children. How would you like a dragon pelt?" His eyes, wide with madness, flashed towards Daenerys.

Daenerys screamed.

* * *

 **JAIME  
** _the young lion_

* * *

Jaime Lannister was long infatuated with dreams of knighthood and glory, of gallantry and infinite honour. His sister teased him for having such childish dreams, but Jaime didn't care. He never had much interest in being a lord or ruling over the Westerlands. He liked fighting and tourneys and glory and being with Cersei, and that was it. Everything else failed to catch his interest.

So when Cersei had hatched a plan to keep him in King's Landing with her, Jaime had easily agreed after a night of passionate love-making. He would join the Kingsguard and stay close to Cersei. He would have the only two things in the world that he wanted. The only downside was that Cersei would have to marry the young prince Viserys when he came of age, but it was worth it to have Cersei close to him and avoid a marriage with Lysa Tully.

Everything was going to plan. He had received word only a fortnight ago that he was to become a member of the Kingsguard. He would be raised to the Kingsguard and don his white cloak at the grand tourney at Harrenhall in only two months.

All their plans fell apart with only one letter.

As soon as the maester handed him the letter – he took care to notice the seal was of House Lannister, instead of the seal his father used as Hand of the King – Jaime ripped open the letter impatiently and scanned through it, a frown etched upon his handsome face as soon as he read the first sentence.

" _You have disappointed me and disgraced House Lannister."_

Jaime thought he could predict what his father's letter would contain, an angry rant about how Jaime should be the heir of Casterly Rock instead of a glorified bodyguard, but Lord Tywin managed to surprise Jaime once again. The Old Lion of Lannister had forsaken his position as Hand of the King and was to return home to Casterly Rock. _With Cersei._

He had to read the letter twice. Cersei's betrothal with the young prince was broken and she would return home with Tywin. They would find a suitable match for her in time. So Jaime, having already committed himself to the Kingsguard, would have to serve the royal family in King's Landing without his father or sister present in the city. He crushed the letter in his hand and tossed it into the fire.

The young lion let out a roar.

A golden flagon of wine had also found itself on the ground, along with three golden goblets. Jaime hadn't had a tantrum in years, but he was having one now, at the ripe age of five and ten.

He barely noticed that he was not alone in his room anymore, and only noticed his aunt's presence when she spoke. All it took was a few words and Jaime knew that his Aunt Genna knew _everything_.

"You heard," Genna stated. Face flushed with anger, Jaime nodded. He could not find his voice. "It is for the best, Jaime. It may not seem like it now, son, but you need to be away from your sister."

"You don't understand!"

"I understand everything," Genna promised. She shut the door behind her and lowered her voice. "I know that you love her and you think she loves you, and perhaps she does in her own twisted little way. But girls like Cersei will only use you up until your dry and throw you away. You deserve better than that, Jaime. You do."

Stunned into silence, Jaime couldn't think of anything to say. He should have known his aunt would notice. Aunt Genna was perceptive. Nothing went over her head. He and Cersei had thought her to be like the rest of them, naive and easily fooled, but Genna was anything but foolish. He knew that now.

"You agree that I should join the Kingsguard?"

"No," Genna said firmly. "I would have preferred if Cersei had married a lord far away and you stayed here to be your father's heir, but that is not the way it is to be. At least now you'll be far away from her... _company_."

"You do not approve," Jaime noted with a scowl, his lips curling at the edge.

Genna raised an eyebrow. "Do you expect me too?"

"No," he answered truthfully.

His aunt sighed and turned around, walking towards the door. Before she left, however, Genna started speaking again. "I don't pretend to understand what it is you feel for your sister, Jaime. But I do know this: if you allow her to control your life and make all your decisions, you'll end up a very unhappy man. Let her go, Jaime. You'll be happier for it."

She gave him one last sad smile before departing. Jaime groaned and sat down in the seat beside the window. He didn't want to listen to a word his aunt had said, he didn't want to believe any of it, but he did. He was beginning to think that Cersei was more of a curse than the love of his life.

Tywin Lannister and the rest of the Lannister household that had resided in King's Landing returned to Casterly Rock within a fortnight. For the first time in many years, King's Landing wouldn't be graced with a few dozen Lannisters running about. Their enemies at court would be delighted.

The Lannister family would dine together that evening. Tywin hadn't sat down with all three of his children for a meal in quite some time. Despite that, Jaime was not looking forward to it. No doubt his father was going to give his eldest son and former heir an earful.

Jaime looked at his reflection in the mirror. He knew he was handsome, that any woman in the Seven Kingdoms would be delighted to be his wife. If that made him vain, he did not care. Aunt Genna said that it was waste, for such a handsome young lord like him to join the Kingsguard.

" _The world could have been yours, my boy, and you have thrown it all to be the Mad King's bodyguard."_

He was full of regret now. A large part of him wanted to send a raven to the Lord Commander saying that he would not join the Kingsguard, but the young knight had honour and his honour would not let him go back on his word.

Not even his sister, dressed in a beautiful gown of red and gold that displayed a little too much of endowments, could convince him to change his mind.

"You must stay here, Jaime. With me! We cannot be separated," Cersei pleaded, kneeling on the ground before him, his hands clasped in hers. Tears had gathered in those beautiful green eyes, identical to his. Jaime wondered if they were genuine.

"Only a few months ago you told me that I _must_ join the Kingsguard. Sweet sister, be a little less fickle."

"Things have changed!" Cersei declared, rising to her feet. Jaime knew that the heartbroken lover act would not last long. His sister stood now, eyes blazing with anger, in her true form. "If you join the Kingsguard, you will be stuck in King's Landing without your family. You will be alone!"

"I have made my bed and I must lie in it. I will not go back on my word. Not even for you," Jaime stated, trying to keep his voice firm.

Cersei scoffed. "You think you're some great, honourable knight from the songs, don't you? You think you'll go down in history as some esteemed bodyguard-"

"You've been listening too much to Father," Jaime pointed out.

His sister continued on, ignoring that he had spoken at all. "You will be serving King Aerys' – the Mad King. You will stand by him as he executes innocent men, as he taunts his own daughter and plots against his own children. You think there's anything honourable about that?" Cersei laughed derisively and slowly, mockingly, shook her head. "Oh you sweet fool. My foolish brother. You will serve a madman. You best hope that Prince Rhaegar figures out how to remove his father from the throne before he has you burned alive. Just because he feels like it."

"These are all tales. Lies and exaggerations told by the king's enemies. You should know how court works by now, sister," Jaime chastised, though the fear in his eyes was enough to betray his true feelings.

"Fine," Cersei chirped, a smirk forming on her lips. "I can't promise that the stories I have not seen for myself are true, so I'll tell you what I've seen for myself, shall I? Just before we left, the king decided to hear petitions for the first time in only Gods know how long. You know how he likes to leave ruling to Father unless it involves burning flesh. Well, it seems the king heard that there was a man coming with burnt bones, bones burnt by Princess Daenerys' rogue dragon. He had the little fool brought to the throne room to hear the peasant grievance, smirked at her while the peasant cried and then urged him to show the princess the blackened bones. They were the peasant's daughters, you see. Two little girls. Five and three. Burnt by that black beast. Visenyon, I think.

"Princess Daenerys disgraced herself by sobbing and shaking like a leaf in front of the entire court. The king loved watching his daughter weep. Then he promised the peasant compensation. Not gold, for that was not enough. So he promised the peasant the pelt of the beast that had killed his daughters. Daenerys screamed and sobbed and begged her father. _'Anything else, Father! I'll do anything! Please, please!'_ " Cersei mimicked the princess' voice, making her out to be high-pitched and weak. She then chuckled to herself at the memory. "The king had her dragged out of the throne room. There's a large prize to be won for killing the dragon. There you go, brother. Slay the dragon and you will be remembered as the honourable dragonslayer. Jaime the Dragonslayer, do you like it?"

"What is it your trying to say, Cersei? Be frank," Jaime requested tiredly, trying to hide how his sister's story had affected him. In truth, he loathed to be a Kingsguard to a madman, but Jaime refused to sacrifice his honour by going back on his word. He would do his duty, even if it meant having to stand by as the king terrorised innocents and, as it seemed, his own family.

"I'm saying that, dear brother, your honour is compromised whether you become a Kingsguard or not. Going back on your word is dishonourable, yes, but is serving a mad king, a cruel king, a king who enjoys watching his daughter cry and killing her little pet, is that more honourable? You are caught in a corner, brother. _My love._ The only difference is that one choice involves a lifetime of unhappiness, and the other involves staying here with me, with the woman you love!"

Jaime regarded his sister for a few minutes. She thought she had won. She mistook his silence as agreement, the look in his eyes for love. It was not love he had in his eyes. Only pity. Jaime could see it now. She expected him to forsake his dreams for her, yet she would not forsake her dreams for him. He wanted to be a knight. She wanted to be a queen but would settle for being a princess. _No more,_ Jaime decided.

"It appears, dear sister, that I must choose unhappiness."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:_** _From here, Jaime and Daenerys are the main POV. They're first meeting will either be next chapter or the one after that, but it is coming soon! Make sure to let me know what you think!_


	3. A Dragon's Dream

_**Author's Note:** Thanks so much for all the reviews! I really do appreciate them. Without further ado, the next chapter! Enjoy!_

* * *

 **A DRAGON'S DREAM**

* * *

 _in visions of the dark night  
I have dreamed of joy departed  
but a waking dream of life and light  
hath left me broken-hearted  
–Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

 **DAENERYS  
** _the mother of dragons_

* * *

"Do you ever dream, Daenerys?"

Confused by the question, Dany looked at her husband with furrowed eyebrows and a tilted head. They sat at the head table, overlooking the rest of the Great Hall as courtiers danced in celebration of Prince Rhaegar's nameday. Her husband was less joyous. Rhaegar became melancholic on his nameday, even more so than any other day.

"Of course," was all the young princess said in response.

"Pardon me, sister. I don't think I've made myself clear. I'm not asking you whether you have dreams or nightmares like every other man, woman and child in Westeros. I am asking you whether you have _dreams_. The ones that come true," Rhaegar clarified.

Dany regarded him thoughtfully. Her brother had long been a lover of prophecies and songs that spoke of heroes to come. _The Prince That Was Promised,_ was his favourite prophecy. The night that Dany and Rhaegar conceived Visenya, Rhaegar declared in the climax of his pleasure, as he emptied himself inside of Daenerys, that _the dragon must have three heads_. His love for prophecies and lore was no longer a hobby. It was an obsession.

"You're asking me if I have ever seen the future," Dany concluded.

"Yes."

The princess sighed and took a small sip of wine. "It's only happened once. With the dragons. It hasn't happened since."

"And what was it like?" Rhaegar asked, slowly leaning towards her. Excitement flashed in his eyes.

"I... it was... confusing," Daenerys stammered. She remembered that dream as though she had only had it the night before, but yet putting it into words was beyond difficult. "I was surrounded by fire. There was a burning man. He was screaming. I didn't know where I was until I stepped out of the fire. I was in a field. A field with grass as red as blood. And then the night came alive with a dragon's song. And I knew what I had to do."

"How did you know that it was prophetic?" Rhaegar asked her, leaning closer to his wife as though he was in a trance.

Dany felt herself being taken back to that night, when she had woken the dragons from stone. "I... I just _knew_. Everything I was doing felt right. You and Mother and everyone else was looking at me as though I was insane, but I knew better. I knew my duty. My _destiny_. To bring dragons back into the world. And I did it." Dany smiled to herself, looking away from her husband and into the crowd of people chatting in the centre of the room. All of them had disregarded her as just another Targaryen taken by the madness that ran in her family, and today they call her the Mother of Dragons. The thought filled her with pride.

"Yes, you did your duty well. I'm proud of you." Daenerys beamed at her husband, later cursing herself for falling for his charms. He flashed her that gorgeous smile of his, the one that could make even the most stubborn woman do whatever he asked of her. "I think that we have another duty, sister. One that we cannot shirk, no matter how you may dislike it," Rhaegar informed her. Dany pressed her lips together and frowned, knowing full well what he was going to say.

"Don't say it," she muttered. It was more a prayer to the Seven than anything.

"The dragon must have three heads."

"For Gods' sake, Rhaegar! Don't you see?" Daenerys snapped, her loud tone gathering the attention of the many courtiers around them. Dany did not care. "The third head was Visenya, and she is dead!"

"Then we must have another," Rhaegar stated firmly, as though his word was final. Daenerys scoffed and turned away from him. Rhaegar grabbed her hand, forcing her to face him. Her eyes danced around the Hall, looking anywhere but at him. "Dany, you brought the Prince That Was Promised into the world. You brought _dragons_ into the world. You can't stop now."

A sob clawed at her throat, tears welling in her eyes. She swallowed, hoping to push them both back. "Why are you doing this to me? You know that I cannot have another child!"

"And you know that there is an alternate solution."

"Allow you to wed another? We've discussed this before and I've said no. I will not let you disgrace me and our children!"

"I am not disgracing anyone," Rhaegar promised. The sincerity in his voice almost made Daenerys believe him. Almost. "I know my duty. Do you know yours?"

Daenerys laughed harshly, wearing a rueful smile on her lips. "Oh, I know my duty! My duty was to marry my _brother._ My duty was to bare children. I have given you two beautiful children. Is that not enough? Are they not enough?"

Rhaegar smiled sadly. "They are only two. The dragon must have three heads."

 _You'll find yourself without a head if you say that again, my dear husband._

Along with a glare that could make grown men cower, Daenerys gave her brother-husband a cruel smirk. "To have another child, you must take another wife. Even if the High Septon agreed, you'd need my approval. That I will not give."

The smile slowly withered from Rhaegar's handsome face. He wore instead of his smile a frown that turned into a terrible glare, directed at Dany alone. Daenerys flinched at the sight of it. She had never seen her husband so angry. It was a quiet anger – seething, silent, but deadly all the same. Daenerys was very afraid. She felt like a little girl again.

"You had a duty, Daenerys, to your house, to the realm. You have shirked that responsibility because of pride. I will remember this."

She could say nothing in response, too shocked by her husband's sudden change in mood to come up with a reply. Rhaegar called upon Ser Barristan to escort him to his rooms, leaving yet another nameday feast early. Daenerys stared after him, wide-eyed and helpless.

The last person to make Daenerys feel so afraid was their father. In fact, her father was the only other person who had made Dany feel afraid. Lately, Rhaegar frightened her often, with cryptic words and carefully concealed threats. Daenerys hated feeling so weak and vulnerable and small. Rhaegar made her feel all those things, yet he pretended that he was still _noble_.

Some people said that it was Dany who took after her father, given how she had acted the day she hatched the dragons. Her temper didn't help her case either. But as Daenerys mulled over what Rhaegar had just said to her, she wondered if he was the one who would follow in their father's footsteps. The very thought chilled her to the bone.

She drank too much wine that night, more than her small body could handle. She remained with only her children, her mother and Viserys sitting at the high table. The king had returned to his chambers earlier that night, when he decided that his son was getting too much attention and chose to make a grand exit to take back some of the attention. What was it that made the men in her family go insane? She had seen hints of the madness in Viserys, some in Rhaegar, and more than just some in her father. Her father _was_ the madness. She feared that her brothers might follow him.

If her Aegon ever became so terrible, Daenerys didn't think she could bear it. She hoped her son would make a good king, a kind king. Westeros hadn't seen such a king in quite some time. _The Prince That Was Promised,_ Rhaegar called him. He was _destined_ for greatness. Dany had believed in those prophecies once. Not anymore. Not since the Red Witch tricked her into sacrificing Visenya.

Dany spotted Ser Barristan walking towards the High Table. Slurring her words a little, Dany summoned him to their table and beckoned him to sit with her. The knight awkwardly looked around him, worried that someone might see him act so informal with Daenerys. Dany almost laughed. This man had been the closest thing to a father she had, it was stupid that he had to pretend otherwise.

"Come now, Ser Barristan. Sit with me. They're all too drunk to pay any mind," Daenerys promised, offering him a kind smile reserved only for him.

"Very well, princess," Ser Barristan obeyed with a smile of his own. He sat beside her. Daenerys reached for more wine, but before she could grab the wine pitcher Ser Barristan had grabbed her hand gently and gave her a warning look. "I think you've had enough for tonight, princess."

Sighing, Daenerys sat back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest like a child. "Not nearly enough," she grumbled.

"Something on your mind?" the knight inquired. Daenerys gave him a look. Ser Barristan became ashamed. "I apologise, I didn't mean-"

"You mean well, I know. You always mean well, my knight." Ser Barristan visibly relaxed, his formerly tensed shoulders falling. "And tonight, it isn't a rogue dragon that plagues my mind."

"No?"

"Rhaegar has been acting... strange, these last few days," Daenerys revealed. She knew that she shouldn't be spilling out secrets to someone outside of the family, but Ser Barristan _was_ family to her. He wouldn't use her secrets against her. Dany continued, "He has become even more obsessed with his prophecies. I'm sure you've heard him speak about them. There are so many now, I've lost track. The three-headed dragon. The Prince That Was Promised. The song of ice and fire... I'm sure there are more."

"My lady, I fear it is not my place to pass judgement on the prince," Ser Barristan admitted, looking ashamed that he had even listened to such words being said about his _precious prince_.

The princess scoffed. "Nobody will have a bad word said about Rhaegar. Perfect Rhaegar. Can't do anything wrong, can he? Any woman would kill to have him as a husband. But Rhaegar... oh, perfect Prince Rhaegar cares about only one thing. His stupid prophecies. I have been a good wife, have I not? I have given him children – beautiful, kind children! Look at them, Ser Barristan. They could make a cold man's heart melt with just one smile."

Daenerys looked over at her children, her heart warming as she saw them play with Viserys so happily. They almost quelled the bitterness and anger rising inside of her, but not quite. Why was Rhaegar not happy with them? How could he love his prophecies more than his own flesh and blood? His own seed, his _children_?

Ser Barristan was not watching the children, but rather their mother, with worry etched on his face. "They are fine children indeed, but I must insist. This is not my place."

Finally, the princess relented. She sighed again and poured herself another glass of wine. Surprisingly, Ser Barristan let her. "I understand." Daenerys paused, taking another gulp of wine, before speaking to her knight again. She asked him warily, "Can I trouble you once more for some advice, Ser Barristan? Can you put aside your honour for just that?"

The knight stared at her for a moment before he nodded his head once. "Of course I can, princess."

Dany smiled slightly. It was a quick and fleeting smile, laced with some small amount of bitterness, before she became overcome with emotions. Tears welled in her violet eyes. She forced the words out before she could become a weeping mess.

"You know that I cannot have any children. Not since Visenya." Ser Barristan nodded. "Well, Rhaegar wants three children. It's because of that prophecy. _The dragon must have three heads_." Daenerys gave a humourless laugh. "But I cannot have a third child. So, Rhaegar wishes to take another wife. Just as our ancestor Aegon the Conqueror did. But to do so, he must have the consent of both his wives. But I will not let him. Am I wrong, Ser Barristan? Should I allow my husband to shame me by taking another wife so he can have his third head? What am I supposed to do?"

"Oh, my sweet girl," Ser Barristan soothed, dropping all formalities. He wiped the tears from her eyes and gave her a piece of cloth to wipe her tear-stained cheeks. "I don't know what to say," he admitted. "The prince... has put you in a difficult position."

She couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. "That he has."

"You do what you think is right," Ser Barristan said firmly. Daenerys was surprised. She expected him to tell her to obey Rhaegar and let him take another wife. The knight smiled at her. "And nothing else."

The princess could do nothing but nod in response. She stared at Ser Barristan in mild surprise. Her knight, disagreeing with Rhaegar? Daenerys never thought she'd see the day. She was pleasantly shocked.

"Thank you, Ser Barristan. You have helped me more than you can imagine." Indeed he had. Daenerys felt awakened with a new sense of determination. _I am Daenerys Stormborn. Mother of Dragons. I will not let him shame me._ Dany smiled. "I must put the children to bed. I will see you on the morrow, Ser Barristan. It seems we have a busy day."

"We do, princess," Ser Barristan said, glad of the change in topic. "We are to leave the capital at midday for Lord Whent's tourney."

"An early start," Daenerys commented, bemused. "I bid you goodnight, ser."

"And you, princess."

With one last smile, Daenerys left him to get her children. As soon as they saw her, Aegon and Rhaenys launched themselves into her arms. Daenerys hugged them happily. No matter how down she was, her children never failed to bring her joy.

"I fear it is time for bed, my sweetlings," Daenerys told them.

Aegon was the one to protest, as always. "But Mother! Viserys doesn't have to go to bed! Why can't we stay up a little longer too?"

"Viserys will be going to bed soon as well. Won't he, Mother?" Daenerys asked the queen, who nodded in response.

"He will be, my darlings," Rhaella told her grandchildren. Viserys gave his mother a look of pure betrayal and horror. One stern look from Rhaella silenced any arguments Viserys might have had. Daenerys smiled. Despite how insolent and occasionally cruel her brother might be, Viserys always obeyed his mother.

"Come now, children. Goodnight, Mother."

Rhaella gave her daughter a smile and her grandchildren short embraces. Viserys barely paid them any mind. Daenerys held her children's hands as they walked out of the Great Hall, having to endure unnecessary conversations with nobles on their way out.

Daenerys put her children to bed with a short song. She had never been much of a singer – womanly arts were lost on the young princess – but she did love songs and stories, and her children were the same.

The prince and princess shared a bedroom. Daenerys saw no harm in it. They were both young and so close. Dany would loath to separate them. She had tried when they were younger, when Rhaegar's and the king's complaints became too much for Dany to bear, but every time she tried they would both cry throughout the whole night until Dany or one of the maids caved.

Rhaegar believed that having them share a room would only strengthen their bond as siblings, making their future marriage even more unappealing to them. Daenerys ignored Rhaegar, as she did with most things. Any thoughts of her children marrying, she ignored. They were so young. There was no need for any talk or even thought of marriage.

"I don't want to be like the lady in the song," Rhaenys stated when Dany had finished singing.

"Oh? Why not?" Dany encouraged with a smile.

"Because she had to be saved by some knight from a _dragon_." Rhaenys grinned up at her mother and raised her chin. "I _am_ the dragon."

Dany ruffled her daughter's hair, chuckling. "Yes you are, my sweet. And don't you forget it!" She placed her hand on top of Aegon's and gave it a squeeze, noticing the frown on his face. Neither of her children liked being overlooked. "Both of you are my little dragons."

"I am not little," Aegon huffed.

"Of course not," Daenerys agreed, attempting to be serious as she looked upon her three year old child's stern face and pouty lips. "You are _fierce_. As fierce as my dragons in the Pit."

Aegon beamed proudly, a little smirk on his lips. Daenerys laughed and ruffled his hair too. "Goodnight, my sweetlings."

"Oh, Mother, don't go," Rhaenys pleaded as Dany made to stand up. Rhaenys clutched her mother's hand in hers. "Will you stay with us tonight? Please?"

If anyone knew how the famed Mother of Dragons so easily gave into her children, both human and otherwise, they would not think her so fierce. _Rhaegar will say that I spoil them._ And he would be right, Dany relented. The princess sighed and nodded, causing her children to squeal with excitement. She undressed herself until all that remained was her smallclothes and undid the braids in her hair before climbing into bed with her two children. She laid between them, both cuddling into her side and smiling contently. Dany stroked their silver heads of hair and smiled to herself.

She fell asleep to the gentle chorus of her children's snores.

* * *

 **RHAEGAR  
** _the silver prince_

* * *

As soon as they arrived in Harrenhal, Rhaegar wasted no time and began arranging meetings between the great lords of Westeros. Lord Whent's tourney was a sham. In truth, the Tourney at Harrenhal was generously funded by the crown prince who wished to plot against his father. The Mad King would no longer terrorise the Seven Kingdoms and stain the honour of House Targaryen. Rhaegar would make sure of that.

Prince Rhaegar would meet with the liege lords of Houses Lannister, Stark, Tully, Tyrell, Martell, Baratheon and Arryn separately. He would have preferred to schedule a meeting with all of the lords at one time instead of playing messenger bird with each of the lords, but subtlety and secrecy were of paramount importance to the young prince, and if the king heard that Rhaegar was gathering liege lords and speaking with him, he would rightly assume that his heir was plotting against him. His father already did suspect Rhaegar of plotting with the lords of Westeros, which was why the king was attending the tourney, to keep an eye on Rhaegar.

 _The sooner that crown is removed from his head, the better,_ Rhaegar thought, taking another sip of wine to calm his nerves. _Then he can't hurt anyone anymore. Not my mother, not Dany. Not Aegon or Rhaenys._ He would not risk his daughter receiving the treatment Daenerys had. Rhaegar clenched his fists in rage, remembering the time he had walked in on his father fondling Dany's breasts while commenting that she looked like a better version of her mother.

"My prince," Jon Connington greeted. He was Rhaegar's most trusted friend, the only person he could trust with his plans. Jon guarded Rhaegar's door while he met with people he should not meet with. "Lord Lannister."

"Thank you, Jon."

The Old Lion strode into Rhaegar's room, as proud as ever. He bowed his head slightly in respect. "Prince Rhaegar."

Rhaegar stood to greet his father's old Hand. "Lord Lannister. Thank you for speaking with me. I trust you have a fair idea of what I want to talk to you about. Sit." Rhaegar gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the small table.

"You wish to overthrow a king," Tywin said frankly, "and you think I will help you."

He blinked, taken aback by the lord's bluntness, but recovered quickly. "My father is not well of late, as you know. In his old age, his mind has... deteriorated. It's not as once was."

"The king hasn't been well of mind in quite sometime, my prince. What makes you want to do something about it now?"

"Burning innocent men at a pyre has been quite a frequent occurrence in the Red Keep as of late," Rhaegar explained, pouring both himself and Lord Tywin some wine. "The stench of burning flesh in the throne room has become almost constant. He's started to burn men of higher birth, now. How long until he burns the wrong man and starts a war?"

Politics was something Lord Tywin could understand. The king's killing of lowborn men would not encourage Tywin to rally to his side, but the possibility of civil war might. Sentimentality was wasted on the Old Lion of Lannister.

"So what do you wish to do with our king?" Tywin asked. "Have him executed? You would be named a kinslayer."

"I would not have my father killed. It would not be wise to do so," Rhaegar admitted. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was time enough to reveal his plans to Lord Tywin. But if he was to convince Tywin, he'd have to show the richest and most influential man in Westeros that he had a plan. "I would wish to call a Great Council, to decide on the best way to deal with the king. Ideally, the crown will be stripped from his head and my father would be locked in his rooms, unable to hurt anyone ever again, but the most likely outcome of a Great Council is for the regency to pass to me, stripping my father of all power due to a king."

"A wise enough plan," Tywin mused. "It could work, but you must be certain that many Great Houses back you in your efforts."

"Will you?"

Tywin considered Rhaegar for a moment, eyes sharp and narrowed. "For now, I will only offer you counsel, until I'm sure that this plan of yours could work. Who else have you spoken to?"

"Rickard Stark. Hoster Tully. Doran Martell. Jon Arryn and Robert Baratheon," Rhaegar relayed. "I plan to extend an invitation to Lord Mace Tyrell tomorrow."

"Don't," Tywin warned. "The man is a fool and for the moment has painted himself as the king's most loyal servant. He won't go against our Mad King when the king's madness benefits him."

Rhaegar nodded. "Very well."

"Of whose allegiance are we sure of?"

"'We'?" Rhaegar repeated, cocking an eyebrow.

Irritated, Tywin scoffed. "Answer the question."

"Arryn, Tully, Stark, Baratheon. Doran Martell has said that he will not hedge his bets with us just yet, but if it came to a vote, he would vote to remove my father from the throne."

"The Martells aren't trustworthy, especially Doran Martell. He may seem quiet and docile, but he can play the game as well as his lady mother could," Tywin advised. "You should not share too much information with him. With any of the lords, truly, but especially not Doran. Arryn, Tully and Stark will not betray you because of their overbearing sense of honour while you can trust that Baratheon will do whatever Jon Arryn says for the time being. Mace Tyrell, or rather his mother, will push for being on the winning side."

"Which will hopefully be ours," Rhaegar said.

"Hope," Tywin scoffed. "There is no need for 'hope' when you can do all in your power to ensure that all of the high lords in Westeros are on your side."

"And how do I do that?" he asked, frustrated, allowing himself to look a little too fragile in front of the mighty Lion of Lannister.

"Politics. Scheming. Charm. Use your lovely little wife for that. Make them think that having you as their king will put them in a better position," Tywin explained. "It shouldn't be too difficult. Our king hates almost everyone these days."

"Do you think I could do it? Do you think we could remove my father from power?"

Tywin regarded the crown prince carefully, as though sizing him up. Rhaegar shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't at his best at the moment. His cheeks were flushed with wine and his body a little too relaxed, while his face betrayed the fear and trepidation he felt building inside of him.

But then the lion spoke and filled the dragon with newfound confidence.

"I think that with my wits and your name, we could have the king locked away in his rooms by his next nameday."

The Lord of Casterly Rock and the crown prince spent the rest of the night scheming, trying to predict which houses would back the king and which would back Rhaegar. They talked until the wee hours of the morning, when the sun began rise in the sky. By the time Lord Tywin left to return to his chambers, Rhaegar was pretty confident that the Old Lion was on his side.

Jon Connington entered Rhaegar's room once Tywin had left, hovering by the door and waiting for the prince to speak to him. Jon was his closest friend, but Rhaegar thought Jon elevated himself too highly at times.

"No one saw him leave?"

"No, my lord," Jon informed the prince. "And no one saw him come in."

"Very good."

Jon opened his mouth to speak, no doubt wishing to ask about what Lord Tywin had said. Rhaegar dreaded having to answer him. He could not tell Jon everything. Though Rhaegar trusted Jon with his life, he could not trust his friend with the fate of the Seven Kingdoms. There were very few he trusted with that burden, most them being wise men of high birth. Jon was not one of them.

"My prince..." was all Jon got to say before they were interrupted by a woman's scream. It was a high-pitched sound that pierced Rhaegar's ear. He knew who it was immediately, even though he hadn't heard her scream since she had delivered their children.

"Dany," Rhaegar muttered to himself, running out of the room with the speed of light.

His wife's room was next to his. Because of the argument they were currently having, Daenerys refused to share his bed. Rhaegar hadn't minded. It made conspiring with the lords that much easier. Though as they ventured further north and it became colder, Rhaegar had envied the men that had wives to warm them in their beds.

Daenerys was sitting up in bed, hugging her knees as she stared into the fire, a horrified expression on her face. She was sobbing, tears trailing down her cheeks. Rhaegar rushed to her side and gathered his wife in his arms, holding her to his chest as she wept. Surprisingly, Dany let him.

"Oh, Dany," Rhaegar whispered as he stroked her loose silver hair gently. "What happened?" Daenerys only cried louder. He spotted Jon hovering by the door and nodded to him before gesturing for him to leave. Frowning, Jon obeyed and left the prince to tend to his wife. "Was it a dream? Daenerys, speak to me."

She was scaring him. He wondered if someone had sneaked into her room and harmed her while he was plotting with Tywin Lannister in the room next to hers. _But Jon would have seen! That's not possible!_ Rhaegar's eyes went to the window. It was opened. Could someone have climbed in through the window? His heard thumped hard against his chest. _Oh. Dany, speak to me!_

"I saw him," Daenerys sobbed into Rhaegar's chest, clutching at his doublet. "I saw him."

"Who did you see?" Rhaegar asked, worried.

"Vis- Visenyon. He was so scared, Rhaegar! I felt it! It was like I was inside of him."

"You mean that you were riding him?" Rhaegar had often had dreams where he was riding a dragon, even when he was a young boy. They had gotten more frequent ever since he became bonded to Jaehaerion.

"No, Rhaegar. You don't understand." His little wife looked up at him with wonder shining in her red-rimmed eyes. "I _was_ Visenyon. In my dream, I was flying. I was flying among the birds and the clouds. It was so wonderful, Rhaegar. You couldn't even imagine! And then... then someone shot me. In the shoulder." She placed her hand on her shoulder, concentrating on someone. "Yes, the shoulder, I think. Near my wing. I fell to the ground. I couldn't fly anymore. I was defenceless."

"Do you think..." Rhaegar started carefully. "Are you sure of what you saw, Daenerys? That all this happened to Visenyon?"

Daenerys nodded firmly. "I know it. For the last few months, it was like my connection with him was broken. Before when he flew away I could always tell where he was. Sometimes I saw what he was seeing like I was there. As though _I_ was the dragon." Dany sobered, tears welling in her eyes. "He's hurt, Rhaegar. Visenyon is wounded. All alone. I must go to him."

"And then what?" Rhaegar asked her as she started to get up. He grabbed her wrist gently and pulled her back down beside him. "You can't bring him back with you, Daenerys. Father will kill him."

"I know that! I don't think Visenyon would come back with me anyway, even if I wanted him to. He's not ready." Rhaegar regarded her strangely. He could not begin to understand the bond Dany shared with those dragons, and would not pretend to, but sometimes it downright scared him how much Dany loved and understood the dragons. Dany sighed. "I only wish to take the spear out of his shoulder, so that he can fly again."

Rhaegar relented, knowing that he could not convince Dany to stay with him. He could only compromise with her with now. "Do you know who shot him? Did you see?"

"Some men. There was a group of them. Five or six. They had strong spears that seemed to be especially made for wounding a dragon. I... _Visenyon_ burned them when they came too close to him," Daenerys explained. "He's in the North, near the Dreadfort."

"I will go to him tomorrow night after the tourney. You will stay here," Rhaegar declared.

His wife shook her head. "No. He will not let you take the spear out of him. He will only let me. I am his mother, I must go to him."

He had expected that response. The dragons were strange creatures. Their attachment to Daenerys was almost maternal. _No, not almost maternal. It is maternal. The Mother of Dragons, they call her. If they could only see her now, no person – lord or peasant – would ever doubt it._ In that moment, as he looked upon his wife's worried face, that title of hers never seemed more accurate.

"Fine," Rhaegar relented. The way Daenerys beamed at him made his heart flutter in a way it hadn't in years. "But you must wait until after the tourney, to avoid Father's suspicion. Please, Dany. For me."

Daenerys bit her lower lip as she mulled over her options. Eventually, she gave in and sighed. "Alright. But as soon as the tourney is over, I will be leaving."

"And you'll bring Ser Barristan with you."

"No," Dany argued immediately. "Father will notice his absence. I will not put Ser Barristan at risk. I'll be fine on my own. The Dreadfort will only be a day's ride from here on my Silver."

Frowning, Rhaegar hesitated to give a response. He took in his wife's look of pure determination and decided that arguing with her on this would be futile. "Very well," Rhaegar relented. "I'll leave you to get some sleep."

She said nothing as he got up from the bed and walked away from her. But as he stood with his hand on the doorknob, he heard a quiet voice speak his name.

"Rhaegar," his sister called.

Slowly, the prince turned around and took in the sight of his sister curled up in her bed. Even in the dimly lit room, Daenerys Targaryen was stunningly beautiful. More beautiful than even their lady mother. But in the large bed, his sister looked so small. So vulnerable. The expression she wore didn't help either. She looked frightened. Rhaegar was reminded then of the fact that Dany had only reached seventeen namedays. His sister, his _wife_ , was little more than a child, and yet she was the crown princess, the mother of his heirs, the Mother of _Dragons_. It didn't seem right.

"Yes?" Rhaegar asked, gathering himself again.

She bit her lower lip again and stared at her lap, fiddling with her fingers nervously. "Will you- will you stay with me tonight?"

How could he ever refuse her when she looked at him like _that_? Rhaegar smiled at his little sister and nodded, causing Daenerys to beam up at him. He joined her in the bed, large enough for at least two people, perhaps three, and wrapped her in his arms. Her head fit under his chin, his arms around her stomach as she curled into his torso. He heard Daenerys sigh contently.

He wished that him and Dany could lie like this every night. _You could have had this, you fool. You chose to push your wife away in favour of your destiny,_ his head chastised while another part of him reminded Rhaegar why. He had a destiny to fulfil. He couldn't let love get in the way.

Daenerys wouldn't have been a difficult woman to love, if he had let himself. She was kind and caring, but fierce and passionate. During their first few years of marriage, Dany had doted on him. When a wound of his had gotten infected years ago, Daenerys wouldn't leave his side until he was fully cured. She used to sing him to sleep when he was fretful about his future, his destiny. Dany had loved him, but he couldn't love her back.

 _It's for the best,_ Rhaegar thought. _If you loved her, the next step would be made more difficult. The dragon must have three heads, and if Dany cannot birth the third dragon, then you must find someone who can. Even if it hurts your wife. Even if it humiliates her._

Rhaegar savoured that night. While Dany slept, he stroked her hair and took in her scent, a sweet smell of lavender, for he knew that everything was about to change.


	4. The Poison Tree

**_Author's Note:_** _Summary of this chapter- the Tourney at Harrenhal happens! And Dany isn't the type of woman to suffer in silence..._

* * *

 **THE POISON TREE**

* * *

 _and it grew both day and night  
'till it bore an apple bright  
and my foe beheld it shine  
and he knew that it was mine.  
_– _William Blake_

* * *

 **DAENERYS  
** _the mother of dragons_

* * *

By the sixth day of the tourney, Daenerys had become a frantic mess. She tried to hide it, but the princess fretted for her dragon. In just three more days was the axe-throwing contest, the final event of the tourney, which the king would not attend as he believed the event was not significant enough to warrant his attention. Only Rhaegar was expected to attend from the royal family, as Dany declared that she would rest on that day.

It was a lie, of course. In three days time she would slip out during the night and go to the Dreadfort to help Visenyon. He was still safe, she knew, she could feel it, but how long more until her Visenyon was harmed by some bandits? Or Roose Bolton discovered a dragon near his keep and decided to gift the king with a dragon's pelt in exchange for gold and the king's favour?

Her thoughts became darker and darker. She had gotten little sleep last night, and her face reflected that. She sat at her vanity, staring at her reflection in the mirror while Janna Tyrell styled her hair. Images of her Visenyon being tormented and harmed flooded into Daenerys' mind, causing tears to well in her eyes. She forced the thoughts away and swallowed the lump in her throat. _Three more days. Three more days and I will come for you, my love._

"What troubles you, princess? You've been so very quiet these last few days," Janna Tyrell asked, her voice laced with false concern. She only wanted gossip so she could run to her father and spill on the princess. Daenerys trusted very few of her ladies on her mother's urging, and the longer she spent in her ladies company, the more thankful she became that Queen Rhaella had not allowed her daughter to be a blind, trusting fool.

Dany forced herself to smile. "It is only the weather that troubles me, my dearest Janna. I do not sleep well in such a cold climate."

"Will I fetch you more sheets and furs then, my lady?" Janna suggested, eager to help. Too eager to help.

"That should help. Thank you, Janna." She gave her lady-in-waiting one last smile before the Tyrell girl scurried off to find some bedding for the princess. Daenerys leaned back in the chair, staring at the mirror once more.

In some of her dreams, her reflection often morphed from a girl with silver hair and violet eyes to a dragon with black scales tinted with red and red eyes like molten lava. In others, Daenerys saw her reflection become that of her father's, wearing a callous sneer as he stared back at her through the mirror. Daenerys preferred the dreams where she became a dragon.

She met Rhaegar just outside her door. He asked for her favour, which Daenerys dutifully gave him, and they walked together to the tiltyard. The husband and wife walked in silence, though the animosity that had existed between them before had waned and the silence was an amicable one. Subtly, Daenerys turned her head to look at Rhaegar. He was dressed in armour as black as night, the breast plate was decorated with red rubies that glinted when they caught the light. His beautiful shoulder-length, white hair was bound back with a hair tie, making his fine jawline and high cheekbones more noticeable. Rhaegar was beautiful, no one could deny it. Though their marriage had long been devoid of love, Daenerys had always thought him attractive.

When they had reached the arena where the joust was taking place, Rhaegar bid his wife farewell and departed, leaving Daenerys with only her father for company. She curtsied before him as he snarled at her and watched her carefully. The king had believed for some time now that his children wished to rise up against him in rebellion and had chosen to treat them with disdain and contempt. He made sure to never discuss state affairs in front of Rhaegar and Daenerys and had warned his small council against doing so.

As she took her seat beside her father and king, Daenerys felt hatred rising her stomach at the memories of how he treated her as child. She preferred distance and contempt to the way he used to touch her behind closed doors. Daenerys grimaced at the memory of her father's hand on her breast, on her arse, in between her legs; the dirty words he used to whisper in her ear – the ear of his eleven year old daughter... it made her want to cry.

She swore to herself that Rhaenys would never know such torment. She would kill her father herself and be hung for kingslaying before she let anyone hurt her little Rhaenys.

"Your beast has flown far," her father snarled. Daenerys looked ahead of her, the mention of Visenyon bringing tears to her eyes. She refused to let her father see her cry. "Perhaps he has fled to Essos!" The king barked a mad laugh that made Dany wince. "I wonder if the savages have found him yet. It makes me glad to think of your beast being torn apart by the Dothraki savages. I only hope that they will send me a piece of his pelt. Only a piece, just to make sure that he is dead. Perhaps I will have the seamstresses stitch his black flesh onto one of your dresses. Would you like that, Daenerys? Then your dead dragon shall be with you always!" More mad laughter erupted from her father's lips. It turned into a coughing fit, but even that could not cheer up Dany as the image her father created stayed in her mind.

"He is no beast," Daenerys stated, her voice low and threatening as a tear fell down her cheek. "If he is a beast, then so are we."

The king snapped his head towards Dany and glared at her with such rage that she expected him to order Ser Barristan to bring him his daughter's head. Instead, he grabbed Daenerys' wrist in his hand and dug his fingernails into her flesh, deep enough to draw blood. Dany cried out in pain. The Kingsguard stood by idly, giving their princess sorry looks.

"You're hurting me," Dany whimpered, trying to tug her arm away, but doing so only caused more pain. Her father's nails were long. Having been cut so many times by the swords of the Iron Throne, the king distrusted blades and refused to have his nails or hair cut. Daenerys tried not to look at her father's nails, like many they disgusted her, but now as they pressed into her skin she had to look at them, and they were as disgusting as she had imagined – long and yellow. "Father, please," she begged as more blood started to gush out.

Her father laughed again. "Do you think I am a beast, Daenerys?" She could only whimper in response. " _Answer me, girl!_ "

"Your Grace, if I may," Ser Barristan interjected fearfully, unable to watch the princess be tortured by her father any longer. The king merely looked at him, his nails still piercing Dany's flesh. She had began to weep from the pain. "I believe the princess only meant to say that since those of House Targaryen have dragonblood, to compare a dragon to a beast is a questionable statement. I'm sure Princess Daenerys meant no harm."

King Aerys mulled over what Ser Barristan had said for a moment. He eventually released Dany from his grip and the princess snatched her hand back, cradling it as blood gushed from the cuts. She gave Ser Barristan a subtle nod to show her thanks, which the knight returned. The king's glare was upon the member of the Kingsguard now, as fierce as it had been when Dany was its victim.

"Tell me, Ser Barristan. I am getting old and with age, comes confusion. But if I recall correctly, the duty of the Kingsguard is to serve and protect the king," her father said calmly, his voice light as though he was only discussing the weather. As quick as lightening, however, the king's face betrayed anger and his voice was raised to point of a roar. _"Not to question his decisions!"_

Dany flinched back, as did the members of the Kingsguard that were currently guarding the king and some of the lords and ladies that were seated near the king.

"You are correct, Your Grace," Ser Barristan agreed, bowing his head in submission. "I apologise if I have offended my king. That was not my intention."

With one last humph and a glare directed at the good knight, the king turned away from Daenerys and Ser Barristan and ordered his cupbearer to bring him more wine. Dany shared a look with Ser Barristan, one mixed with relief and terror. Her father's sanity was failing quickly and worsening more and more each day. A man like him shouldn't be allowed to wear a crown, but yet here they were, at the mercy of a mad man.

"Lord Tywin," the king suddenly spoke, placing his goblet on the table after he took a long gulp. "Bring me Lord Tywin," he commanded Ser Arthur Dayne briskly. The knight wore a solemn look, knowing that this wasn't going to end well, but obeyed his king.

"Of course, Your Grace."

The members of the Kingsguard and the princess shared worried glances. Her father no doubt planned to taunt Lord Tywin make a worse enemy out of him that he already had. As the Lord of Casterly Rock and Hand of the King bowed before King Aerys, a frown on his face and his body stiff, Daenerys watched with trepidation as her father hesitated to speak.

When he did, the king was surprisingly civil. Dany wasn't a fool. She knew it wasn't going to last long. "We parted on ill terms in King's Landing," Aerys commented mournfully. "You left so suddenly... were you angry with your king, Lord Tywin?"

"No, Your Grace. I merely wished to return home. I have for too long neglected my duties in the Westerlands and since my wife is no longer with us, the Westerlands was left without a capable ruler," Tywin explained. After years of dealing with a mad king, Tywin was cautious and capable of avoiding the king's rage. Daenerys wished she could master the skill.

"Ah," was all the king said in response, regarding his former Hand with uncertainty. "Very well. But there are matters to be discussed, matters that were left unattended to due to your sudden departure."

Tywin's frown deepened. "Oh?"

The king grinned and nodded. "Yes. Firstly, I would like to inform you that your son makes a brilliant Kingsguard. He has been sent to King's Landing to watch over my wife and son. I am overjoyed with my decision to raise him to the Kingsguard."

Daenerys could see the anger etched onto Lord Tywin's face as he clenched his fists by his sides. His words betrayed no such emotion. "He will not disappoint you, Your Grace."

"No, he won't. Not like his father has." Tywin did not respond to the insult and schooled his expression into one of indifference. "I betrothed my son to your daughter out of gratitude to you for your loyal service to the crown for so long. I was willing to sacrifice my son by marrying him to a mere servant's daughter with common blood! But you betrayed me, Tywin. You left the capital without telling me. What do I owe a traitor?"

"We have already agreed to set aside the betrothal, Your Grace," Tywin reminded the king, who only smirked back at him.

"Yes, we have," the king agreed, his smirk becoming a callous grin as he observed Tywin with narrowed, vicious eyes. "But then I gave the matter some thought and I began wondering... if your daughter was not wed to House Targaryen, then to which house would she marry into? Your daughter is as beautiful as her mother and you would be a fool not to use her to further the ambitions of House Lannister. I have called you many things, Tywin, but a fool... _never_. So I have decided to take the matter of your daughter's betrothal into my own hands. You always wanted your daughter to marry a Targaryen, did you not? Well, a Baratheon must do!"

Seething, Tywin gritted out the words through his clenched teeth. Daenerys almost flinched at the sight of the Great Lion of Lannister, seething in rage. "Lord Robert is already betrothed to Lyanna Stark, Your Grace," he reminded the king.

Daenerys understood then, only now realising why Tywin was so angry. Not only was the king dictating who Tywin's daughter could and could not marry, but he was marrying her to second son with no major titles or lands of his own.

"Come now, Tywin. You understand perfectly who I mean to marry your daughter do," Aerys bore his teeth as he grinned up at his Hand. "Lord Baratheon's brother will be a fine match for your daughter. No lands, no titles, no _armies_ to rise up against me in rebellion should you command it!"

The king cackled manically, slapping his armrest in mirth as those around him watched the king fretfully. Daenerys could not bare looking at him for a moment longer and stared ahead, willing away the sound of her father's cackling. His laughter went on for longer than what could be considered normal, and only came to a halt when he started choking. Dany did not miss the small smile that appeared on the solemn Lord Lannister's face as the king gasped for breath. While it may be considered treason to take joy from the king's suffering, Dany did not fault him one bit.

"If you would excuse me, Your Grace," Lord Tywin said after Aerys had stopped wheezing but before the king was strong enough to argue with him. Tywin disappeared into the crowd, seated far away from his Mad King.

Dany made her excuses as well, desperately needing a break from both her father and the lords who sought the king's favour. _Fools, the lot of them. My father favours no one but his pyromancers these days._ Of course, the true extent of her father's madness had not reached the ears of many lords. If a letter that contained any ill word spoken of the king was shot down, that person would face punishment at the hand of Aerys Targaryen. And, knowing her father, he would show them no mercy.

"Princess!" she heard someone call her name and turned around. She should have recognised the falsely chipper tone of Cersei Lannister, what with Cersei being her lady-in-waiting for so long.

"Lady Cersei," Daenerys greeted, inclining her head after Cersei and her dark-haired companion curtsied. Dany had never seen the girl before which, considering the girl's beauty, was very strange. Most pretty, highborn girls in Westeros had been to court at least once. Dany looked away from the girl and asked Cersei, "How are you?"

"Very well, my lady, though I miss court terribly," Cersei replied silkily. Of course she would miss court. Dany had never seen someone fit into court and its mechanisms as well as Cersei.

"The court is not the same without you," Dany claimed, and it was the truth. _No. It is so much better without you breathing down my neck and listening to my every word._ Having Cersei in her household was like having one of Varys' little birds live in her room in plain sight. Daenerys forced a smile on her lips and turned to Cersei's companion. "I don't believe we've met..."

"Lyanna Stark," the girl finished. Her grey eyes flashed with mischief and narrowed, as though sizing the princess up. Dany flinched at first at the girl's intense look. She then caught herself and, filled with a sense of indignation, stood a little taller.

"Ah," Daenerys replied, regarding the wolf girl coolly, narrowing her violet eyes. _A dragon does not cower before a wolf._ _I have_ _nothing to prove to a mere wolf girl._ "Lord Rickard's daughter?"

"I am," the girl answered proudly, straightening her back and raising her chin.

"I hear you are betrothed to Robert Baratheon. You are very lucky. He is a handsome man," Dany commented, watching Lyanna closely for her reaction. She remembered hearing that Lyanna was not so taken with her intended after he fathered a bastard in the Vale and wanted to know if the rumours were true.

"That he is," Lyanna said, sadness seeping into those fierce grey eyes. The sadness faded when she caught sight of someone behind Daenerys and were filled with what Dany believed to be desire. "Though I think you are the lucky one. The prince is very kind and honourable. You are very lucky to be his wife."

 _Yes. I am_ most _lucky to be married to my brother._ If only the Stark girl truly knew Rhaegar, as only Dany did. Knew him for his obsessions and his ruthless determination and his occasional madness. Then, perhaps, she would not think Dany so lucky.

She looked over her shoulder to see who Lyanna was staring at and found the object of that adoring gaze to be Rhaegar himself. Dany could handle another woman loving her husband. After all, wasn't half of the Seven Kingdoms in love with perfect Prince Rhaegar? Yes, Daenerys could handle one-sided love towards her husband without feeling a hint of jealousy. But what sparked fear and even sadness in the young princess was when she looked behind her, and found Rhaegar looking back at Lady Lyanna with equal fondness.

Dany felt no envy as she watched her husband fall in love with another woman. Only dread.

Daenerys excused herself quickly after seeing her husband longingly stare at the Stark girl. The princess sat with her father and endured his cruel words for hours as he mocked and threatened the liege lord's of Westeros, their sons, their daughters, and sometimes even Dany herself. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to cry or roar. Perhaps both. She missed her mother. She wanted her mother.

The joust started soon after Daenerys sat down. Today was the final tilt and Rhaegar would compete against Ser Barristan. He wore her favour on his lance, a cloth of red and black. A part of Dany that never wished her brother well wanted him to lose, though another part of her, out of gratitude for how he comforted her a few nights ago, hoped that he did well in the joust. As always, the bitter part of her won.

"Who do you hedge your bets with, Daenerys?" her father asked her, not even turning his head to look at her. Dany could see the grin on his lips anyway. "The White Bull or Rhaegar?"

"I could not say, Father," Dany replied, knowing that she would risk her father's ire regardless of which man she chose. "Both fight so well."

The king barked a mad laugh. "Pretty words, Daenerys. You're just like all the rest of them, aren't you? Dragon's daughter or no, you recite pretty words to please your king. Speak true, daughter. Which knight?"

Daenerys watched her brother as he climbed upon his horse – a beautiful brown stallion – a look of determination on his handsome features. Dany had seen that look many times before. The night Visenya was conceived, he had stormed into her chambers with a purpose, wearing that very same look. He frightened Dany that night and was much rougher than usual. In truth, it still sent a shiver down Dany's spine to think of that night. Whenever Rhaegar wore that expression, he seemed to succeed in his endeavour.

" _The dragon must have three heads."_ And three heads it had, for a time.

"Rhaegar," Daenerys answered finally, staring at her husband with a distracted look in her eye. "It will be Rhaegar."

Her father grinned at her once more. "You have faith in your brother, how sweet. Here's hoping he does not disgrace House Targaryen in his feeble attempt to defeat the White Bull."

Dany pressed her lips together and chose not to respond, knowing that her response would be taken badly no matter what she said. If she agreed with the king, she would be speaking ill of their House. If she disagreed with him, she would be disagreeing with the king. Daenerys had learned a long time ago that it was sometimes best to say nothing.

She watched Rhaegar as he placed his helm upon his head. It was a magnificent piece of armour, in the style of a dragon's head and adorned with jewels of black and red. Rhaegar truly looked like a knight from a song in his armour, tall and handsome and brave. Dany understood what women swooned for him and wished they were his wife instead of the stoic princess. _If only they knew what it was like to be his wife. The prophecies, the distance, the demands... Rhaegar is easy to love from afar, yes, but impossible to love as a husband. But I am the villain, as always. The evil princess who could not love her husband._

The sound of a trumpet signalled the beginning of the joust. Rhaegar and Ser Barristan raised their lances and urged their horses forward with a kick. Rhaegar's stallion was faster than Ser Barristan's. Dany didn't understand jousting very well, but surely having a faster steed was advantageous.

Rhaegar and Ser Barristan raced towards each other, aiming their lances at their opponent's chest. Twice, the knight and the prince missed and rode on to the end of tiltyard before riding towards their opponent again.

Lance raised, Rhaegar aimed his lance at the knight and Ser Barristan did the same. This time, however, Rhaegar managed to hit Ser Barristan in the chest with the tip of his lance and knock the knight to the ground, unhorsing him. The audience cheered and clapped for the young prince, some even stood to cheer for Rhaegar. Dany stayed seating. She was never as joyed over Rhaegar's accomplishments as a wife ought to be.

Everyone was smiling and laughing as Rhaegar climbed off his horse and pulled off his help, his silver hair falling down his back and flickering in the sunlight. He went over to Ser Barristan and offered him his hand, which the knight accepted. Ser Barristan clapped him on the back and congratulated him on a good tilt. The young prince seemed merry, but Dany could see the melancholy in his eyes.

Lord Walter Whent presented Rhaegar with a crown of blue winter roses. Dany sat up straighter. It was tradition for the victor of a tourney to crown his wife, if he had one, and crowning anyone but his wife would cause a stir. Rhaegar climbed on top of his stallion, crown in hand, and urged his horse forwards.

The Prince of Dragonstone did not spare his wife a glance as he rode past her, towards some other lady in attendance. Daenerys froze, equal parts humiliated and angry. She watched her husband with narrowed, fiery eyes as he trotted towards the lady Dany met that day. _Lyanna Stark._

 _You fucking fool,_ Dany seethed, clenched her fists on her lap. She could feel the eyes on her, flickering between the princess and the prince fearfully, and tried her best to remain composed. But her resolve slowly withered as Rhaegar raised the crown in the air and smiled at Lyanna fondly, _lovingly_.

"I proclaim thee the Queen of Love and Beauty!" Rhaegar announced. Dany heard the quiet gasps of women. He had even shocked their father into silence.

Her face became hot and the anger became unbearable. Why? Why had he done this to her? Was this her punishment for not allowing him to take another wife? Since she refused to allow him to shame her by taking another wife, he decided to shame her in another way. Could he be so cruel?!

Rhaegar placed the crown on Lyanna's head, sharing a smile with the young she-wolf and placing a tender kiss on the back of her hand. Dany could not take it anymore.

Embarrassed and angry, _so angry_ , Daenerys rose from her seat, a hundred eyes upon her, and stormed out of the tiltyard, fists clenched by her side and anger radiating from her body. She wanted to run away – far away from Rhaegar and that wolf _bitch –_ and so she would. She gathered her skirts in her hand and ran towards the stables. Tears had begun to well in her eyes, but Dany refused to let them shed. _I will not cry for Rhaegar. I will not!_

She saddled her white horse – named Silver, for the colour of her mane. She was about to climb onto her back when another person joined her in the stables.

"Princess," it was Ser Barristan, bruised and wincing in pain, who had rushed after her. "Where are you going?"

"For a ride," Daenerys declared. "I must clear my head."

"I will go with you-"

"There is no need. You are injured. Go rest. I will be fine on my own," Daenerys promised, climbing on top of her silver. The horse had been a wedding present from Rhaegar, she noted ruefully, and strangely enough she preferred the horse to her husband and brother.

"I'm coming with you," Ser Barristan stated firmly and climbed on top of his horse. Daenerys saw him wince with pain as positioned himself on top of the stallion. She felt guilty, but she was not forcing him to come with her. She did not want him with her.

"Ser Barristan-"

"I am sworn to protect the king and his family. You would have me sacrifice my honour?" Ser Barristan asked, his horse trotting towards her.

"Never," Daenerys replied, though she was still uncertain. "That is why I must refuse your company. You see, what I am about to do is against the king's wishes and may compromise your honour, I fear."

Ser Barristan sighed and gave her a short nod. "We're not going on a short ride, are we, princess?"

"No, Ser Barristan. We're not," Daenerys agreed. "Visenyon is in trouble. What kind of mother would I be if I allowed my child to remain in agony?"


End file.
